The present invention relates to detoxifying chemical and biological agents, particularly, to providing detoxifying reagents for chemical and biological agents, and more particularly to the formation of coated solutions of detoxifying reagents using small quantities of treated (hydrophobic) nanoparticles, which results in a dry powder (solid-water), which can be deposited, such as by blowers, on difficult to reach sites for detoxification chemical or biological agents located at such sites.
Since the Saran incident in a Japanese subway, the possibility of terrorist attack with chemical or biological weapons has received increased attention. There has been developed sprayable solid-water detoxification reagents, which on contact with chemical agents will release the detoxifying reagent and attack the sulfur bond in mustard or in VX agents and the carbon bond in G agents, thereby detoxifying them. Preliminary experiments with chloroethyl ethyl sulfide as a mustard surrogate have shown that the encapsulated solid is released into the pool of surrogate and the “agent” was destroyed in 30 minutes. These types of oxidizer have also been shown to destroy the Anthrax stimulant Bacillus globigii (BG) and the VX surrogate, Amiton.
Currently, aqueous solutions or foams or other decontaminating agents have been used directly on the chemical or biological agent. Since the decontaminating chemicals are delivered everywhere, the chemical reactions associated with detoxification occur throughout the area of application, thereby providing the potential for causing collateral damage to the area surrounding the chemical or biological agents. Thus, there has been a need to provide decontaminating agents whereby depositing thereof at a point of need does not cause collateral damage to the area of application. Also, there is a need to provide remote areas such as ducting or other hard to reach areas with decontaminating chemicals without any cause of collaterial damage thereto.
The present invention provides a solution to the above-referenced problems associated with the deposition of decontaminating chemicals used on chemical or biological agents. In the invention, a liquid detoxifying reagent is weakly encapsulated with a hydrophobic nanoparticle coaling to produce a powder or “solid-water detoxification reagent” which is “solid” until it contacts the spill of agent, and then the weak, nanoparticle coating breaks down, the detoxifying reagent solution is released and the chemical or biological agent is detoxified. This approach is based on the well-known phenomena called “Dry Water”, see Degussa Corporation, Technical Bulletin Pigments No. 23 (1989), “Aerosil as a Thickening Agent for Liquid Systems”, and Degussa Corporation Manuscript “Dry Water—a formulation principle with hydrophobic Aerosil®”.